Dreams of blue skies and green fields
by orlha
Summary: Story of Shunrin and her remarkable king, both Taika and dreaming of bigger dreams that the duty that was entrusted upon them. This is the journey of how Shun rose and fell.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A/N: This is a spinoff a story of a character from my story: Gone. I had planned for a sub plot in that story for this character but since the plot was already seemingly complicated enough, I took it out altogether. However since I already had a story for them, it seemed like a pity not to write it. So here it is. Please also note there are fewer characters from the 12k universe and more OC because she is from a completely different country. And there really is red kirins in the 12k universe. :D I did research to check if it's possible.

I took the trouble of finding real Kanjis for their names this time, so I'll write it here even if it probably will never be shown again. For example Hisaoki: 玖冲 means black jewel rising into the sky. And our pretty Kirin's hourai name is Amaya Tsukino (family name): 雨夜 月埜which means night rain on a moon field. I hope the irony is not lost on you.

* * *

Yoko looked out over the garden. Under the thin silver of the moon, only the white snowdrops were visible and the barest reflection of the moon on the still pond. She could hear the soft swishing of the unkai from the depths of her room. It had been her solace since Shouryu had passed away. She hummed a tune, her hands itching to play her gittern. Nights like this always made her long to play the gittern, but to play the gittern would mean waking people up and it was something Yoko would dearly like to avoid on this night. Perhaps it was a habit since Shouryu and her used to do so, but Yoko thought that maybe it was because nights like these made her melancholy.

However unlike most of her usual nights, what Yoko had on her mind were of things that she had thought of for hundreds of years: her home in Japan, her family that had long passed away. It was not just the night that made her think of these things, it was also because of the sleeping figure in the bed.

Yoko turned to gaze at the figure. Her red mane fanned out, spilling over and onto her snow white pelt. This was the kirin of Shun. Freckles of iridescent red spotted down her pelt. Yoko had always thought that Keiki's beast form was beautiful but Shunrin's beast form was breath-taking. It had been told that the taika Taiki, Kaname Takasato, had a beast form that was extremely majestic, more so than any normal kirin. She never had the privilege of seeing so for Kirins rarely revert to their beast forms except in front of their masters, but she was certain that Shunrin's beast form was equally beautiful, if not even more so than Kaname Takasato's.

She fretted for this magnificent kirin. Taika kirins never turned out too well. Their forms were too closely linked to their shells in Hourai resulting in them being Hinna. Immature kirins often developed into small bodies and occasionally immature mindsets which made it difficult for them to carry out their duties.

It had been a hard four years for all of them. Yoko had done her best to find Shunrin. Now that Rokuta had passed away, there were no other taika Kirins that could take over his position. She had ordered Keiki to procure more shirei in order to increase the radius that the shirei could search for. Nevertheless, they had succeeded and with the help of the gogoukanda from Ren, they brought her back.

Shunrin had fared considerably better than Kaname Takasato had. They had found her fast enough and her body had instinctively reverted to her beast form upon arriving in Kei.

Truth to be told, there was no reason why Yoko should remain in the room. Shunrin had her nyokai to care and protect her. As soon as Shunrin woke up, she would be moved to Mount Hou to be looked after the nyosen. Yoko's part had ended here the moment she came from Hourai and into 12 Kingdoms. However Yoko felt a strange connection to the kirin and since the nyokai did not mind Yoko, she stayed there watching the sleeping form of the kirin.

* * *

When Amaya woke up, she became aware of a feathered arm cradling her. She looked up to a smiling face of a person with long black feathers as hair and wolf like eyes. It was from the back of her mind that she unconsciously knew her name.

'_Hisaoki,_'she spoke. The words did not really form in her mouth but rather in her mind yet she knew that the receiving person had heard her. It was the most peculiar feeling. No she was not a person, Amaya corrected herself. She was a Nyokai.

'_Where am I?'_ she asked, her eyes wandering about her. It was a simply furnished room but the furnishings were not cheap. She reminded herself to act more childlike. More than often, she had appeared too intelligent to the adults around her that they felt unsure how to act around her. But where ever she was at, she knew she was safe. Hisaoki made sure of that. There was a sense of comfort being in Hisaoki's arms.

That was when she realized her nose was longer than she remembered it to be. Her body felt heavier than it used to as well. She turned to see her white pelt and brightly polished red hoofs. She was a kirin and in her beast form. Such knowledge came to her naturally despite how strange it felt.

"Shunrin."

She heard the low pitched voice of a man. There was the slightest shiver as the voice sounded through her. It was the faintest tone of that no man could hear; the melody that only kirins could hear and youmas fell to its prey. It was the tone of command, assertion, sympathy, compassionate; a tone that had no words that could describe it accurately for only kirins possessed it. It was this way that they knew without a doubt that they were kirins.

She knew without being told that he was Kirin of Kei.

"I see you had no issues with switching your forms," he said, pursing his lips. An odd statement as though to state that she might have had issues with changing her forms.

Amaya did not know how to react to such a statement. She struggled with herself for several moments, her unaccustomed weight of her body made her unbalanced. With the small thought of wishing to be her normal self, she shrank. She found it was as natural as taking a breath except for the peculiar change in weight. She felt the drape of the warm blanket across her before she could even shiver.

Keiki stood over her, having just dropped the blanket over her.

"I apologize for my master's rude behavior. We had been searching for you for four years. As there is no taika Kirin, it had been exceedingly difficult. I expect she fell asleep here watching you thinking that you are finally here."

The words the Kirin used were unfamiliar to Amaya as the name Shunrin that they seemed to have given her. She could hear Hisaoki's protests to Amaya's unhappiness to the name Shunrin.

"Your majesty-" the blonde kirin shook her gently.

Yoko woke up with a start. Violet eyes framed by pale gold hair stared down at her. She must have fallen asleep, having been lulled to sleep by the soft sounds of the unkai. Swerving her head to the bed, green eyes met the crimson red. Shunrin was awake and well enough to transform into her human form. She was equally beautiful in her human form. Beautiful but small as a typical four year old was. She had a head full of hair red like hers and eyes that matched its intensity and full of curiosity.

Yoko supposed the first thing she had to ask was her name.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Amaya Tsukino," Amaya replied, glad finally someone had the civility of asking her name instead of naming her.

"It's a pretty name," Yoko said with a ghost of a smile lingering on her usually stern lips. "They call you Shunrin because you are the kirin to the country Shun and you are female."

Yoko could see the quiet confusion on Amaya's face clear upon hearing her words. People in this realm tend to believe that one would naturally understand the world. The measurement they use to the way the system worked, there was nothing similar to Hourai. Yoko would have scoffed had someone from the 12 kingdoms told her that there were heavenly beasts that selected the kings for each kingdom had she not been put through it herself.

"You were born on a tree in Mount Hou, but your eggfruit was swept by a storm into Japan and you were birthed in Japan."

Amaya nodded, she knew this without having to be told. Though he had been worried, it seemed that most of Keiki's fears had been nulled. She had not stayed long enough in Hourai to forget most of the latent knowledge that a Kirin was born with. It was clear as the way she had been able to easily control her form.

Unsure of what else to say, Yoko nodded to Shunrin.

"It is good to see that you are well enough," was all Yoko could think of. "Inform us should you require any assistance."

Yoko walked off, her plain brown ministerial robes fluttering as she did much like how Yoko's stomach felt. Amaya had seen many adults but Yoko was by far the sternest she had seen. Her lips were pulled so tightly and thinly together that it seemed almost like a straight line. Her green eyes stared at Amaya as though they could see through her every thought. The master of this Kirin was fierce and scary yet Amaya could sense the softness beneath her that she seemed so ardent in hiding.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Shunrin coughed. There was a pounding in her head and a lethargy in her limbs that would not go away with time. This she knew. How her heart ached to know that. Her pure king. Her righteous king. She must stop him.

"Jyakyo," she whispered. It was with a tone of despair as she commanded her loyal shirei, "Tell Kei Queen, thank you."

Not too long ago, she had sent her shirei, Houku, to beg for aid from Yoko. Yoko would not have willingly stood aside and watch her die and even if she had to, she would have passed the message so. A week has passed since then, but there was no word. She must have gone to Mount Hou to verify what actions she could take to assist Shun. Shunrin closed her eyes in bitterness. If she waited any longer, there would not be anymore country left for her to save. She must do what only a kirin can do.

Struggling upright, her limbs fought with her desperately. The weight of her body compelling her into a fetal position as she struggled.

"_Taiho-" _Hisaoki said faintly. "_Please don't do this, Taiho._"

Shunrin could feel her head spin as she finally propped herself up. A wave of nausea overcame her.

_Born for a king, die for a king._

In her heart was great joy to die for him, to protect him. Her pure king. She could remember the first day she met him. The pure joy that ran through her as she laid eyes on him. He had given up so much for Shun: his family, his fiancée. No, she was not going to let Shun fall. She promised a kingdom of eternity to Yoko. Shun was meant to be a co-existence with the unchanging Kei. King Shun was a king like no other king. He had a vision and a system. Undeterred with his lack of knowledge, he had pressed on and ruled the kingdom for almost 150 years. It was not going to fall to such a small bump.

She shifted, the form from human to beast, there was nothing difficult about it. There was a lightness in her body as she shifted. Through the open windows and into the sky she flew, her hooves cantering into the empty sky. Though her heart sang as she reached her king, there was stench that permeated from the ground. She cried for the hundreds and thousands that had died.

The ground scorched and seeped in their blood.

There was the faintest whisper as they saw her riding through the air: whispers of hope and whispers of despair. Was she here to assist the king in killing them or was she here to stop the king? To hope that she would stop the king was too much to hope for.

Now battling not only the weakness in her body but the blood sickness, Shunrin braved on into the heart of the battlefield. She staggered onto the wall. Her hooves landed unevenly. Her hooves skidded and landing onto a knee, she strained to keep herself upright. Her limbs faltering, one step after another, falling, lurching, it was only through sheer willpower that brought her to King Shun. Flanks heaving, her lungs gasped for air, she felt as though a whole train had ran over her head.

"_Master,_" she gasped, not really catching her breath despite the fact that she struggled greatly to.

The three generals stood behind him, holding their breaths half in awe, half in hope. They were good people, simply following orders because they had no choice. No choice was a coward's way was something Shousen, the Daishiba, had said. He had chosen to be here, to stand here and watch people die because it was the only way. Should there be a person to replace him, there would be no guarantee that he would be as lenient as possible as he already was. Shousen secretly hid people and spared as many as he possibly could without the king noticing. The three sported large purplish bruises on their faces as they watched her limp towards them. If they could they would have whisked her away, but there was nothing they could but watch with painful hearts to see the once glorious kirin stagger.

No longer the brilliant red she once was, her white pelt was a motley shade of black and dark brown patches. Her mane hung limply down.

"_Please stop this madness,_" she begged. Her form shifted as she fell to her knees.

Shousen hurried forward, wrapping her with his cape. In this state, none of her shirei would be able to move. Shunrin would not even be able to move was it not for her exceptionally strong will.

Tears rolled down her face. Tears of despair, of bitterness to what her king was doing, for the dead and dying, there was too many things for Shunrin to weep for. However they were none of those tears, she wept for what her king had become and for the broken promises that he had made.

"Blue skies and green fields," she spoke so softly that it barely made a wind.

King Shun swiveled around. With eyes large with rage, he flung his hand at Shunrin. She flew backwards, the last of her conscious dimming as she did. Her body landed in a heap. There was no energy left in her except to gaze hazily into the bright blue sky of Shun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

There was a great beauty about blue skies. Poets write about blue skies, writers pen about blue skies and artists paint blue skies. Amaya was one of the few kirins that loved her beast form over her human form. It was her beast form that allowed her to soar freely into the sky and her human form that tied her down.

Amaya could almost hear her shirei scolding her for leaving Mount Hou. An unchosen kirin should not leave the palace, yada yada. She had heard that enough from the nyosen. However the nyosen could not stop her. She was strong enough and with twelve shirei, she would be safe enough. Amaya had set off to bind one strong shirei, but in her bid to get a strong shirei, she had captured several before settling on the one strong shirei, Jyakyo, a shouhi. Not that the others were any weaker. In fact they were all considerably strong.

Lightly, she landed onto the small snow covered garden, her hooves making small prints onto the untouched snow. Most of architecture in the garden still lay largely in ruins save for a small seat that seemed amateurishly built. She stopped just before the wooden floors of the inner palace. Yoko had been rather displeased when she saw Amaya's hoof imprints on the wood and had given her such a lecture that Amaya was not going to risk her wrath again. Switching back to her human form, she summoned Karoukyu, a Yahyoki demon that could lengthen and shorten itself. It curled itself around her bare body and fashioning itself to look like a white fur coat that covered her sufficiently. It was not very good at fighting, but considering Amaya's preference for her beast form, it was very convenient to have around.

Bustling into the inner palace of Kei, Amaya was keen onto talking to Yoko about the Reigon Gate. Yoko can never have enough of fresh gossip as Amaya thought as she swung around the last corner to Yoko's study room, slamming face first into Keiki. There was grave disapproval on Keiki's face as he realized who the little intruder was.

"Shunrin," he began. Amaya already knew what he was going to scold her for. He was only a Kirin and no matter how much he disapproved for Amaya, there was nothing he could do for as long his master was happy to let her fly in and out of the palace. However that didn't stop him from showing his disapproval at her lack of manners and gravity to her situation.

"Isn't the Reigon Gate open now?" his eyebrows knitted into a knot above his violet eyes. The Reigon gate was the gate where people who attempt to climb the mountain to see the kirin. But the truth was that very few people actually attempted it at this gate. The trip up was already perilous enough without the cold winter to add its burden.

"I saw them already." She sniffed, turning her small nose at the beginnings of his lecture.

"It has already been eight years since you arrived back in 12 kingdoms. Most Kirins would have chosen by now."

"Well I'm not like most Kirins in the first place." She shook her red mane at Keiki, fighting the urge to stick her tongue out at him. "Besides, didn't you take seven years to find your queen as well?" She smirked as she skipped past him. She could almost hear Keiki's jaws grinding in frustration.

"Shun Taiho, I would not advise you entering-" Koshou's words fell unheeded as she flung the doors open.

"Yoko~" She said in a sing song manner. She stopped short, taking in the destruction around her. Yoko sat in the shadow of the study room motionlessly. Her head rested against her propped up arms, heedless of the mess that lay around her. The books were strewn all over the floor as though they had been thrown in anger. They probably were. Amaya had seen Yoko angry before. She was like a seething pot of fury, holding her anger in check until she could take no more.

"What is it, _Shunrin_," Yoko asked coldly. "Shouldn't you be at Mount Hou instead of traipsing all over my kingdom?" Yoko rarely called her that except when she was angry.

"The people of Shun have already suffered for many long years. How long do you want them to suffer before you look for a king? The kings before you had been too short lived to have had any effect. Have you even gone to Shun to look at it? Have you seen it?"

It was the most that Amaya had ever heard Yoko speak. Yoko was so quiet that Amaya did most of the chattering which made her please. But what Yoko had said was the simple truth that everyone had been trying to tell her. Amaya had not even gone to Shun to take a look at it before. She was not interested in finding a king either. If a king could be kings of two countries, then she would have gladly bowed to Yoko. Yoko was like the big sister she never had but always wanted.

"I-" Anything Amaya said now would only be excuses. It was true. She failed as a kirin.

She turned and even before she was out of the corridor, Amaya had switched back to her beast form and fled into the blue sky. Feeling guilty, Amaya turned around and flew towards Shun. If she had at least taken a look at her kingdom, she would be at least back herself up when others blamed that she did not care about Shun at all.

The lands beneath her were brown. Not the rich, earthy brown but a light sandy brown much like the desert. It was bare – almost. She had heard the story many times from the nyosens. There had been several kings before her. Each as incompetent as the latter. Before the lands could recover and grow, the kingdom had fallen yet again. Her heart hurt from the realization that the longer she waited, the less people there would be left. The sky was so thick with youma that even her twelve shirei were having difficulty.

It was night by the time Amaya reached back Mount Hou. She could hear the nyosens scold her for being the naughtiest kirin they ever had in the history. A tear slid down her face. She hadn't grasped what grave consequences her actions had been until today. It was not like she was purposely not choosing a king. There was really no one that caught her eye. They said that the kirin would know when he was the right now. So all she had to do was look at each person that came and follow her instincts. She had done exactly as she was told, was she wrong if no one caught her eye? The more she thought of it, the more she wished to go home.

Home was where she had been born right? Or was it the libraries of Yoko where she had spent much time in? The quiet voice in the back of her head asked, but oblivious to it there was only a single fully formed thought in her head.

The wind picked up.

_I want to go home._

Then everything went black.

* * *

Amaya awoke to being surrounded by a warm feeling. She was on a bench still dressed in her Mount Hou's clothes. She could see through the window, the trees that framed the night sky was not like the ones she had grown used to in Mount Hou or even in the 12 kingdoms. The stars were kind of different as well. She shifted her head only to see that the warm feeling was caused by the rather large blanket that covered her. It smelt slightly of unwashed body and sweat. Where on earth was she?

Her eyes roamed to get a better idea of her surroundings. The room was a sparse room with only a bench, a table and a several chairs. A man dressed in blue sat at the table, manning it, Amaya guessed. There were posters pasted all over the wall behind the man. Nothing seemed familiar to Amaya. The benches were made of an odd material though it looked like wood and the air smelt faintly of tobacco mixed with other stuff that made it smell foul.

"Girlie, you're awake?" Her shifting must have given her away for the question was a rhetoric question that did not actually demand an answer. "Any idea where your parents are?"

Amaya did not even have the faintest idea where she was except that she was definitely in Hourai. Apparently wishing hard enough to return had helped her to return.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"Yoyogi Park Police Station." The policeman behind the desk shifted his hat absentmindedly. "Someone found you wandering around and brought you here. By the time you reached here, you had fallen asleep. What is your name?"

Finding her parents would undoubtedly be a good idea. It would be difficult to live by herself in Hourai until she found a way to return. If being able to go to and fro was something part of Kirin's nature then Amaya was certain that with some testing she would be able to do so, but for some reason unknown to her, Amaya was convinced that she should stay here. There was a certain rightness in her decision to stay so she searched her mind for her full Japanese name. She had not used her full Japanese name for the longest time that when she finally remembered her family name, it felt odd as it rolled off her tongue.

"Tsu- Tsukino Amaya."

That caused a flurry in the station. Apparently she had been reported missing eight years ago. There was a big investigation for she was one of the six children that had gone missing during the same time frame. The other five were found mutilated, but she was never found. Her parents held on hope that she would one day be found alive despite the police advising them not to hope too much. Now she had finally reappeared and looking hale and well.

She saw person after person and all with the same few questions. Where had she been? At first Amaya had answered them as accurately as possible, but she realized that all her answers were quickly dismissed as a coping mechanism for during her missing years that she was supposedly to have been abused. Hourai people were hard to understand, Amaya thought. They wanted answers yet when they heard the answers, they rejected them. It was only much later that when the two adults came towards her that she registered them subconsciously as her parents.

She allowed herself to be persuaded into large bear hug. Amaya admitted that she did for several moments missed her parents. Unlike the stories of the Taiki kirins she had heard from Yoko, her parents had been relatively understanding. They accepted that she was allergic to any form of meat and Yoko suggested that it might have the reason that Amaya was in a lot better shape as compared to the other Taiki kirins.

Her mother took her by the hand, leading her out from the large white building. It was called a hospital for sick people. There were such buildings in Kei as well. Yoko wanted equal medical facilities for her people so she had them built in many places. Amaya turned watching the white building fade into the distance. There were a bewildering number of differences of the 12 kingdoms and Hourai. It seemed like the only common things was the sky and the sea. She missed the sky terribly.

A boy of fourteen years old stood waiting by the door. Amaya could sense his uncertainty as she clambered out of the car. Stopping in askance, she was picked up by the tall well built man.

"Look Takashi! Amaya has returned!" he laughed, uncaring that he was disturbing his neighbors. Her mother did not seem to care either, her laughter ringing loudly into the silent air. They seemed genuinely happy. The lady was even shedding tears of joy but the boy stood there sullenly.

"Amaya! Call oni-chan!" she wiped her tears off as she reached for Takashi.

He shuffled forward, propelled by the lady's hand. Together, they stood in the awkward group hug for what have felt like an eternity. Takashi stared at Amaya with unreadable look, perhaps a mix of wariness and hostility, Amaya could not pick it out clearly. However one thing was certain, neither of them wanted to be in this.

The father ruffled Amaya's hair. He had a small smile on his face but that was all Amaya needed. He was happy to have her back. Never mind the strange circumstances that had occurred, never mind the long gap, never mind that she might no longer be the child he once remembered. He was just happy that she was now here.

* * *

Amaya slid off the bed, her feet lightly landing on cool wooden floor. It had been most inconvenient that her parents had decided to keep an extra close eye on her since she returned. The dim light from the lamppost outside filtered in through the drawn curtains. She sat there motionlessly, her ears straining for the slightest sound from the bunk above.

"Jyakyo," she murmured softly to the shadows.

"They are all asleep," came the reply from the shadows. She stood up, her fingers pausing on the window. Amaya turned back, glancing back at the bunk where her brother slept. There was a peculiar feeling that she got from Takashi. She had wondered if it had anything to do with her lost memories before the time she arrived in 12 Kingdoms but it seems that Takashi was not going to tell her anything.

"Inform me if they wake before I return."

"As you wish."

She saddled the window, casting a final look at the shadows of the room, she leapt. She would have fallen had she been a normal human, but she was not. Her black hair rapidly melting into a fiery mane, her bare feet into shiny red hoofs, she was a kirin. Her hoofs barely cleared the roof of her neighbours, her mane unraveling in the crisp night air. She breathed deeply. The air above was much better than the polluted air below. She had no idea how they could stand it. Could they not hear earth crying from their impulses? She felt sorry for them; the earth, the trees, the plants and the poor oblivious people. But for the moment, she would enjoy her short moment in the sky. She suppressed a sigh as she climbed further into the sky.

Flying high above what a normal eye would be able to see, she soared for the first time in many months. How she missed this sensation. Beneath, the small twinkling lights seemed the like the multitude of stars above her. Their lights pulsed with life. The country that never sleeps, Yoko had often fondly remembered Hourai this way. The city was beautiful in its own way. She paused in mid-air, watching them. There was a low buzz from the city. A low buzz.

"Shunrin!"

Her nyokai called. Amaya dodged, narrowly missing the metal bird. She had been so engrossed in staring at the city that she had not noticed the oncoming object. This must be the airplane that Yoko had described before. So it appears that in Hourai, she is not the only one that can fly in air. With that irony in her mind, she returned just in time for daybreak.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I had to write the irony of her colliding into a plane. I'm sure the newspapers must read something along the "Mysterious near collision with flying object above Tokyo. Pilot says it was a flying unicorn."

Then it occurred to me. If she's white with red mane, wouldn't she be pretty visible in the night sky? Then people would be talking about that mysterious white horse in the sky. Haha!

Also you might realize that some species of youma I've mentioned do not actually exist. I mean, surely there has to be TONS of other kinds of youma.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The ground was sandy brown beneath her feet. Hot with the residual heat from the burning afternoon, they scorched her feet despite the protection from her sandals. Elsewhere, the people that still struggled to live on the dying land walked with no shoes. Shoes were a luxury in a kingdom that had winters that barely chilled your toes. Crumbling buildings lay in waste for as far as the eye could see. This was Shun that Amaya first knew. The sun beat down upon her as she wandered around. The people that she passed where too tired to even stir. Perhaps they were dead for there was a smell of death around them.

A boy of fourteen or fifteen was tending to the cracked ground. The girl with fiery hair wandered around the bare soil seemingly unused to the heat and dryness of the air. He paused in his motions to take in her red hair, her porcelain skin, _her shoes_. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Her eyes were filled with such sorrow and pity for the people that she walked passed that the boy was almost certain that if he asked her for anything on her, she would have given him gladly. Had there been school like it would when a King was on the throne, the boy might have been one of the smartest, but there was none save a hermit sage that lived not far from his shack. The hermit sage was once a general that now lived his days out far from the capital. He taught the boy everything he knew and trained the boy well with what energy the boy could muster. She must be the kirin, the boy quickly deduced. Either the kirin of Shun or the queen of Kei, whichever she was it meant that respect was due.

"Your noblest," he knelt down before her. His face pressed into the parched earth. Straining his ears, he could make out her tremulous voice reply.

"Please rise."

Her tone was a tone unused to people kneeling before her. His teacher had taught him the various ways to read into people and with those skills, he realized that she must be the kirin for the Kei Queen had been on the throne for much too long to be unused to giving such commands. He stood before taking an involuntary step back. The typical kirins had purple eyes of varying shades, but the kirin that stood before him had eyes like fresh blood. There may have been better words to describe bright red, but for the boy who had never seen red flowers, the only bright red thing that came to mind was the colour of fresh blood.

This was Shousen's first memory of Shunrin.

* * *

Shunrin lay motionlessly on the bed. Her red hair fanned out on the white pillow case. Her pale skin was splotched with patches of black skin. Shousen could still recall the first time he saw her. She had given him her shoes. They did not see each other again until after her king was throned. There were not many people who remembered him when he was first crowned. Shun King, Ryukusei Hanashen, was not just a taika king. He was first of the many kings before him to push through the crowd of incompetence and growing laziness of his ministers. There had been many ministers that held Kei Queen in contempt despite her long reign for an incident that they call 'The Vanishing', there were many variations of chronicles of that incident. However Shousen was thankful that Shun King had adopted many of Kei Queen's policies and methods of dealing with things. Shousen had always considered Kei Queen upright and straight-forward with her dealings, never bothering to hide behind flowery words. There was a popular saying in his department, "upright like the Kei Queen." It might be because of Shunrin's attachment to Kei Queen, but it helped to foster good relations with Kei despite the Kei Queen to have become reclusive.

It was not so long ago that Kei Queen had one day sought an audience with Shun King. Shousen remembered it clearly for she had worn too casual for a royalty, her hair tied plainly into a ponytail with only an adorned clasp as her hair decoration. It was quite unlike the noble women that he had seen in the palace and outside. Yet she was the queen as the second longest reigning queen. She sat down with Shun King, neither had much regards to the palace codes. Kei Queen warned Shun King that he was falling out of the way. Cold as Tai's winter her tone was; she spoke frankly, not even bothering to mince her words. Shousen was dimly aware of the spies in the levels of ministers. To say _dimly aware _would be to imply that Shousen was not very capable. In fact Shousen was notoriously famous for having an iron memory. It helped him greatly as a Daishiba, but these spies were much like the shadow of a passing wind. Never really existing and when you realized they did, they were gone. The only things he knew of them was that they served to assure that the king or the court had not gone corrupted and they were never the same people.

So when he heard Kei queen mentioning of the _watchers_ as she called them and how Shun King was dangerously about to fall off the way, it made Shousen very nervous. He did his best to stop it from happening. However his efforts were like a tree trying to stay upright amidst a growing typhoon: pointless and futile.

The sky was shrouded in a devouring darkness that mirrored the heart of the king. Unlike the heart of the king, the sun would surely rise again. Today the dark of the day wrapped them in its cool embrace. There was only the tiniest silver of the moon in the ashen sky, not even the stars peppered the sky. Hiding them from the King's suspicious eyes, Shousen moved his only piece left in hopes to arrest the king's descent.

It was the cloying scent of night sky and grass that Amaya woke up t. The faintest hint of summer blossoms that yet to bloom wafted in the breeze, summer was upon them. She opened her eyes, hoping against hope that all that had been merely a dream. The wilted grass told her otherwise. Shousen was here. She could feel his presence despite him being motionless.

"Where am I?" She asked, licking her cracked lips.

"Not too far from the battlefield. But not near enough for the blood sickness."

There was a certainty in his body that she could not understand. How could he be so certain where there were so much uncertainty? She shook a small shake only to realize the throbbing in her head from the blood sickness was gone. Blood sickness of that magnitude would have lasted at least a week.

She sat up in alarm, her weakening body almost giving out on her as she did. "Shousen," a tone of alarm crept into her voice as she asked, "how long was I out?"

"Two days," he replied as he stood to brush the dust from his pants. Stiffly, he did a half-bow to the figure behind Amaya that she had not noticed. It was the white hair that she had noticed first, followed by the piercing green eyes and hair red as hers.

"Yoko."

There was a brief pause as her statement hung awkwardly in the air. Yoko was here. A surge of hope burned through her. Reliable Yoko, wise Yoko. Amaya reached out to her, her body trembled in its efforts to contain the hope that threatened to leap out of her. The Hekisoujo fell from her hand and onto the ground.

"Yoko," she said again, this time as though she savored each syllable. "Do you bring news?"

_Of course she brings news! Why else would she be here!?_ Amaya chided herself for stating the obvious. Yet as Amaya scrutinized Yoko's face, there was not even a ghost of a smile found on her.

"I do," Yoko replied haltingly. She sat down on the makeshift bed to pull Amaya into a gentle hug. Sometimes Yoko hated herself only knowing to go straight to the point. Her words never had the softness that Shoukei had even when telling bad news.

"But it is not good," she continued in a low voice. "I cannot assist you, even if you came riding at the head of my army under the pretense of supporting the king."

Yoko could feel Amaya's weight snag against her. "I'm sorry." There were no words that could comfort Amaya. Yoko knew that, but even the insignificant sorry felt better than none. She motioned to Keiki, who came carrying a brown paper bag.

"Amaya," Yoko called out, trying to shake Amaya from her grief. "We did bring something that might remind him of the man he once were. Or accelerate it."

Yoko looked grimly at Amaya. It was a risk, but in the rapidly descending situation there was nowhere to go but upwards. In the bag was a bunch of photos and news articles - Kaikyaku items, pictures of Shun King and his family and print outs of old news articles.

Shun King, Ryukusei Hanashen, had given up more than most royalty had in order to ascend the throne. His family, his fiancée, his soon to be born son and his dreams, he had discarded them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The day that Amaya had disappeared, Takashi had been playing football with his classmates nearby. Rather than staying to play with the 'kids', Takashi had much rather preferred to play with the big boys. He was good at football and that made him popular with them. So ignoring his mother's warning on not to leave Amaya, he left her by the swings with Naoki; but as fate would have had it, he had injured his foot and was forced to fetch Amaya to go home. That was when he saw a hand protrude from the shadow of the tree and beckon her. Naoki was oblivious to it, but Amaya had gone over and took it before he could stop her. Then she was gone.

The world around him erupted as he screamed running to the tree, "They took her!" The mothers that had been engrossed in their conversations tried to calm him down to explain. Why couldn't they understand that there was no time in _calming down_? His parents were called, the police were called, a search party was set out. No one saw her again.

It was all his fault.

He should not have left her alone with Naoki. He should have stayed with her or brought her along. Why didn't his parents blame him? It would have felt better if they did. Instead they just quarreled with each other constantly. This incident had spilt his family, his mother spent long hours on the streets begging pedestrians if they had seen her child; his father spent long hours at work so they could afford the best detectives. Then the case of the missing children was solved. The five mutilated bodies were unearthed in various locations. Some was still fresh, but the others had varying degrees of decomposition and only their teeth provided the DNA to identify them. His parents cried when they heard the news but all Takashi could think of that finally it would be closed. Subsequently, it was the news that Amaya was not among the pile. The policemen did not have much hope in find Amaya alive. His parents on the other hand continued their search: one year, two years. Finally they gave up.

Takashi had known all along that it had not been human that had taken his sister. The hand that protruded from the tree was feathery with long claws instead of nails. If Amaya was ever found, she must have been turned into a monster. It was with this rationale that Takashi waited for his sister after she had been finally found and discharged. Sullen, aloof, always watching, he found it hard to accept her. She was very different from how he remembered her. She liked to be by herself and talked to herself constantly when she was alone. All that was until he woke up from his sleep one day to see his sister jump out of the window and transform. His sister gamely explained to him her circumstances and then introduced her shirei, Houku. Houku was a shirei that looked like a mix of wolf and leopard. When Takashi first saw him, he almost screamed had it not been Amaya's hand pressing his scream back. Houku was anything but small. Roughly the size of a small van with long, large teeth protruding from his jaws, Takashi was certain that Houku could eat him whole if he wanted to. Since then after being introduced to her most of her shirei, he had insisted on tagging along for most of her night rides. He enjoyed just sitting on her shirei and watching her fly through the air. Her beast form was so beautiful that it was breath-taking – literally.

So now they were in the present, high above the city and gliding through the night sky. Takashi could feel the wind slice its cold fingers across his face. He dug his fingers deeper into Houku's fur. No matter how cold it was, being able to fly freely in the sky was a privilege. Amaya slowed down beside him. Her red mane streamed past her in the night sky, glinting quiet coppers in the pale moonlight. Her red eyes glanced sideways at him.

"Taka I was thinking we must never let Naoki know of this."

This Naoki in question was a flighty person, or so Amaya described him as. Takashi had seen him and had known him enough to get a decent grasp of his personality. Naoki was anything but flighty. Intelligent, incisive, patient. Those were the words he would have used to describe Naoki. If he had a secret, he would have entrusted it to Naoki. However due to Naoki's family relations, Takashi's parents did not find Naoki a good example to be friends with and so Takashi had never been close enough to Naoki despite being neighbors.

"Why's that?" he asked after a moment of thought. Despite his differences in perception of Naoki's personality, Amaya often considered her words thoroughly before speaking. She must have a reason for such a statement.

"Well-" Amaya started and stopped. She should land. Right here, right now. It did not matter how ridiculous it was going to be or how many people were going to see her. She had to land now.

She descended rapidly. Lower and lower, her hoofs touching the trees and then the fence. In the garden she stopped. Her hoofs barely grazing the cold, damp earth. It did not matter how many people there were in the garden for all her eyes had was the old lady sitting on the patio drinking her tea.

A great heat of joy ran through her. She could barely contain herself as she walked closer to the old lady. Her body shivering unbearably for she fought to not throw herself into the old lady's arms. This was her king. She transformed.

Her eyes weeping for joy as she placed her head onto the lady's feet. "With Heaven's Mandate, I greet my master. Henceforth, I shall never to leave your side, to serve you with utmost loyalty – this is my pledge."

She looked up. "Say you accept."

The old lady with light grey eyes and creases down her face smiled lightly. "And what would happen if I accepted it?" Though she was old, her wits were sharp and her memory was vivid. Never accept a mythical creature's pledge for one could never been certain what else it could mean.

Takashi watched from above. His sister groveling in front of an old lady, just seeing that made his stomach twist in a tight knot.

"Houku, we must stop her." He urged the motionless shirei.

"No." The reserved shirei that barely spoke did not offer any further explanation besides his single syllable answer.

"Why?" Takashi asked, trying to prompt the shirei into answering something satisfactory.

"She is the king."

Takashi stared dazed at the old lady. He had known that Amaya flew around because she was searching for her master, in which would become the king of her kingdom. It all sounded fantastically insane but considering she had speaking animals that speak and fly and hide in the shadows; and the very fact she could transform and fly. It sounded almost sane. What he did not expect was that the _king_ would be an old lady. He had imagined in the back of his mind of a fierce looking, stoutly built man, not this old frail lady. Emphasis on the word OLD. She looked like she was going to break in the wind. That kind of old.

Amaya looked up at her master quizzically. "You would become the king of my kingdom."

The old lady laughed a hearty laugh. "An old lady like me? King? And where is this kingdom of yours?"

Amaya paused in her answer before slowly replying. "It is a land far beyond here."

"I would ask if you were playing a game, but as you descended into the garden and transformed to kneel and say those words, I am certain you are not." Her eyes took on a faraway look as though recalling something. "I am old now. With many grandchildren. There was a time where I would have gladly accepted."

She pulled Amaya up with her bony hands and patted her. "But it is no longer now. I refuse."

Amaya felt something break in her. It shattered into a thousand of pieces. It hurt her just to look at the old lady. Tears were still running down her face, but they were no longer with joy.

"W-Why?" Amaya stammered. The old lady might have lacked the energy as compared to a younger king, she would have been a fine king. She was wise and keen.

The lady smiled. "Because my grandchildren are more important than what this heaven's mandate will ever be."

Spinning around, Amaya leapt into the air, her body seamlessly transforming. Though her body was light, her heart felt unbearably heavy. What will the nyosen say? She had never heard of a king refusing. Then with a clap of thunder, she was gone.

* * *

It was pouring when she arrived at the edge of Kei. The last thing she remembered was staggering through the forest in the dark.

When she awoke, it was clear that she was not in Hourai but in the 12 kingdoms, Kinpa Palace to be specific. She gazed at the curtains. The soft sunlight filtering through the turquoise gauze, casting the emblems of Kei and En entwined onto the luxurious rug. Amaya had forgotten how luxurious it was in the 12 kingdoms. Shaking her head, she corrected herself. It was not that 12 kingdoms was luxurious, it was that the rooms she was used to were luxurious.

"Jyakyo."

"You wandered into forest and almost passed out. I carried you on my back and Hisaoki held you there until we reached the nearest government building."

"And that sent the official in a panic and summoned Daishito to pick you up." The strong feminine voice continued. Amaya could sense a wry humour in her voice as she spoke and though Amaya squinted, she could not see the speaker through the shadow. "To disappear for two years only to return in that state. It made us worry."

There was the shuffling of cloth and Amaya hear the shifting of position. The speaker tapped her fingernails on the armrest. Was she impatient or merely in thought? Amaya could not discern only that she was neither Suzu nor Yoko. This was Kei was it not?

"Who are you?" Amaya asked, finally finding her voice. Struggling to an upright position, Amaya found her body lethargic and unwilling.

"Who am I?" The voice said in an incredulous tone before breaking out in a chuckle. She continued though Amaya had not spoken. "I had assumed that you had gone to Hourai to search for your master. Yet here you are – alone."

"Where is the king?" A sense of foreboding began to overcome Amaya. The speaker had referred the Daishito by his rank rather than name. Most officials did not do so in Kei. Had something happen to Yoko?

"I am the king."

"What?!" Amaya fought to keep the panic down. "Hisaoki!"

Her nyokai leapt forward to pull the curtains apart, shedding light onto the speaker. The speaker grimaced in the light. Her hands shadowed her eyes before glaring down at Amaya. It was a child that could not be any more than twelve years of age. Her icy blue eyes glared at Amaya.

"How rude!" The speaker said.

"H-how can you be the king? Yoko was fine when I left…"

The speaker huffed angrily but before she said anything, a familiar voice interrupted. "Queen Kyou, I would like you to refrain from teasing Shunrin." The blond haired kirin gazed impassively at the Queen Kyou.

"I was not teasing her. I merely forgot to mention which king I was," Queen Kyou replied hotly. "You have not answered me."

Queen Kyou spun her attention back to the red haired kirin. "Why- are- you- alone?"

"I- I-" Amaya looked wildly at Keiki.

He raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps this is something left to the kirins to discuss?" He looked pointedly at the young Queen.

The queen of Kyou marched towards the door. Whirling around at the exit, she pointed. "But I better hear the reason later." With that, she left. The door slamming shut behind her.


End file.
